COLUMN: Get excited, stay excited
Hello fellow Aggie fans! First, I would like to say “thank you” to all the students for supporting our Aggie Athletic programs this year. Student attendance has soared for almost every sport. But the excitement is not just for Athletics. I have also seen attendance soar for on-campus activities. I would go as far to say that this is the most involved I have seen Utah State students in my short five-year experience. That is saying something for a campus that has always been involved.
So where has the excitement come from? I can’t quite put my finger on it. However, I would like to propose that it is from a combination of factors.
One factor, I believe, is our largest-ever freshman class. They have truly been amazing this year. They have been active and involved and I feel they have brought a lot of excitement. Utah State is in good hands for the next 4-5 years. Thank you for those involved with recruiting the best students in the country.
Another factor for me is that we got off to a great start. First impressions have always been big for me. Our Week of Welcome was full of fantastically planned events that left the students wanting more. Every event I attended was packed with students and we all wanted to be there. This definitely has contributed to involvement. Well done to those involved with those activities.
The next factor I feel has had an impact on involvement is the overall strategic plan of our university. Stay with me here. Utah State has not become a great place for students to get involved overnight. It has come from years and years of planning and from administration working with faculty and staff to create the USU experience. More recently, our current administration, under the direction of President Stan Albrecht, has furthered the cause of a student-centered campus. I constantly hear our administration, faculty and staff say, “We are here for the students.” They have empowered us as students and we believe that this campus is for us. Why wouldn’t we want to be involved with “our” campus?
A very large factor for Utah State Athletic excitement: two words, Gary Andersen. Andersen has just begun his second year as head football coach at Utah State and we found out last week that his contract has extended until the 2016 football season. Coach Andersen has brought with him a lot of excitement and the future of Utah State football looks very bright.
The best thing that we can do as students is to continue to support all aspects of our University. This makes our University better and directly effects out Athletic programs. We do make a difference. So make an effort to make it out to all of our home football games. Come early if you can. Join the Stampede if you can. Paint your face if you can. Bring a cowbell if you can. Join the HURD if you can.
So far this year there has been a lot of excitement for the HURD. For those that do not know, the HURD is the Utah State fan club that arrives earlier and yells the entire game. If you have thought about joining, it is not too late. You can join all year long but I recommend doing it sooner than later so you can take advantage of the benefits sooner. Benefits? When you join the HURD you immediately get a t-shirt and official HURD card. The card has discounts on the back that are only for HURD members. The card proves you are a HURD member to give you access to the HURD events and tracks what events you attend. When you attend a sporting event or coach’s show, there will be someone from the club committee with a card-swiper that will track that you were there. At the end of the year we give away awards in the form of scholarships and prizes to the HURD members that attend the most events and rack up the most points. Also, at every tailgate and HURD activity there is free or discounted food for HURD members. So bring your cards and come early. Go Aggies!
To join the HURD you can come to an activity or pay the $25 fee to join online at http://www.usu.edu/asusu/hurd/.
Alex Putnam is the ASUSU athletics vice president